Autumn leaves and tartan trews

Inspired by relaxed, rustic weddings, Jenny and Craig chose to tie the knot in a Humanist ceremony at a privately owned castle north of Glasgow. With the Campsie Hills making a magical backdrop, they filled their day with DIY touches and a whole lot of love.

How did the two of you meet and get engaged?

We met at university in Dundee in 2009. On the day of the engagement, we were going out to a concert and when he came over to the house to pick me up, he was all dressed up in a suit and gave me a notebook. The notebook contained some pages of drawings of us in a cartoon/comical style. When I turned the last page of the drawings; there sat an engagement ring in the book tied with a pink ribbon. That’s when he got down on one knee and asked me.

We were inspired by…

We knew we wanted to have an easy going wedding so we chose to have a Humanist ceremony, a buffet style dinner and have the decorations made and arranged ourselves. We made our own archway with artificial flowers and foliage which worked really well, and me and my bridesmaids made pom poms that added a bit of colour to the marquee.

We decided to go with a rustic/DIY theme for our wedding, so we got some flowers from Triangle Nursery online and some from a local florist. The table top flowers were all hand tied and arranged with the help of my friends and family. They were all put in jars which I had painted and glittered myself.

The bouquets, boutonnieres and cake flowers were supplied by Endrick Blooms, based in Killearn. They supply flowers for a lot of weddings at Duntreath so it was great to know that it was a known supplier to the venue and a bonus that they are a small, local business too. I met up with April and she was really lovely and enthusiastic about my ideas.

With the wedding in October, I wanted some elements of autumn/winter flowers so the berries fitted in really well, and the silvery tones of the foliage matched my bridesmaids’ dresses. She even got my dahlias (which are one of my favourites) from her brother’s garden because it was so hard to get them at the time!

Tell us about your venue…

Duntreath Castle is a family home to the Edmonstones, and as a wedding venue is run by Lady Julie Edmondstone. It has magnificent grounds; lots of trees and greenery, even a small lake with a bridge and swans!

We never knew this castle existed until my boss at the time suggested it as he knows the family rather well. It really is a hidden gem. So it is perfect if you want a private venue, and a beautiful backdrop for photos.

How did you choose your photographer?

My brother had suggested getting in touch with one of his friends, Lindsey (Mack Photo) who is a photographer. So we looked at her work online and after meeting with Lindsey, we knew we would be in good hands on our wedding day. We thought her style of photography would be very fitting with our autumnal wedding.

What we love about Lindsey’s photos are that they are so natural and whether the photos are taken in a castle or on the beach, she manages to capture a certain atmosphere and the spirit of the wedding she’s photographing. It was so easy working with Lindsey and we think she takes cracking images!

Your dress is gorgeous! Tell us more…

The dress was made by CindyAlan, a Hong Kong based company that recently opened up a store here in partnership with a photography business, who we know through family and their friends. A long story short, I was offered a custom made dress from CindyAlan. I’ll be honest, I was never really sure what I wanted for a dress and I never imagined I would go for the full skirt like I did. But I tried on as many as I could, in a few different places too, and whittled it down to what I liked on me. Then it was designed and made.

It was a bit of a risk having it made abroad, but I loved it, and was so happy with the result! The dress had a beaded bodice with white button detailing at the back, capped sleeves, and a plain organza skirt, with a slight train at the back.

My wedding shoes were ”Aquarius Peach Glitter” high heel court shoes from Pretty Small Shoes. (I have small feet so these were perfect!) .

The groomsmen were in kilts from Slanj, but we wanted Craig to stand out. So he opted to have tartan trews made!

The Porter name is a sept of the McNaughton clan, so Craig chose the weathered McNaughton tartan, which has reds and greens running through it. Craig and his bestmen had dark grey waistcoats and jackets. The bestmen had silver/grey ties whilst Craig had a bow tie made up to match his trews. Craig’s shoes were from Slaters in Glasgow.

Slow shuffle or big number?

We looked up a few entertainment websites and settled on Soul Inferno after a bit of a let down with another band. But to be honest, it was definitely for the best. Soul Inferno exceeded beyond our expectations.

Since we had guests from all over, and some of whom hadn’t been to a Scottish wedding before, we chose to have the band play a few ceilidh songs in their set which was really fun. Soul Inferno were fantastic and kept everyone dancing from start to finish. Our first dance was “And if my heart should stop somehow” by James Vincent McMorrow, which was chosen by Craig.

Tell us something surprising about your day…

The day went by in a flash so its very hard to pinpoint. We had a sweetie and dessert buffet table… but people went crazy for them so some people ended up with no cake! Although there was wedding cake still to be had so we hope that made up for it!

Any advice?

Use all the help you can, do not try to do everything yourself, as much as you would like to! On the day, try to get away and have a few minutes to yourselves – you will need it!

Also, let your groom (and possibly groomsmen) know every single detail. Whilst I was getting ready, our cake was getting delivered and flowers were left for the cake to be cascaded down each tier. Craig didn’t realise this so he told the caterers to just pop them on the top. The groom will have to answer these kind of questions so they need to know these details. In saying this, do not stress out over the small things. Just have fun!

Why Scotland?

We are both from Scotland and live here too, with a lot of family around us. So it made sense to get married in Scotland so we could share our day with family and friends. It’s just a bonus that there are some beautiful places to get married in.

What’s the one truly unforgettable thing about your wedding day?

Craig – Seeing Jenny walk down the aisle.

Jenny – I get nervous talking in front of a crowd, but it was so easy standing there with Craig saying our vows.

WE FELL IN LOVE

With its sublime scenery, wonderful hospitality, incredible venues and super talented suppliers, we felt that Scotland deserved its own, dedicated Scottish wedding blog. After several years in the Scottish wedding industry (as photographers) we gave up on trying to persuade others to start such a blog and finally decided to do it ourselves. We launched We Fell In Love 5 years ago and what an incredible journey it has been so far.

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